Cheetahstar's past
by Cheetahstar of BadgerClan
Summary: 'Why do they ignore me? Just because I'm the runt...I have feelings too' Cheetahstar was always bullied as a kit and a young apprentice, until Hawkfrost taught him the sweet symphony of revenge. Follow in this troubled tom's paws as he experiences life and death, trust and betrayal, love and hate. Will standing up to his pain be enough, or will he have to kill to get his wish? R&R!
1. Prologue

**First story, so if it isn't good then don't judge me c: Characters and Clans came to life with my ideas, no one else's, so if any of my characters or Clans sound like yours then it's just a coincidence. Erin Hunter is the respected owner of the Warriors series. Enjoy :D**

Prologue:

"So, are you up for the challenge?" a dark tabby tom asked, turning to face what appeared to be his son.

"Yes, Cheetahkit seems like no issue I can't handle, Tigerstar." Tigerstar's son focused his ice-blue eyes on him. "Why would it be a challenge?"

"Hawkfrost, this kit is the son of my great, great, grand-daughter, Littlesoul, correct?" Hawkfrost nodded. "But just because our blood runs strictly through his veins, doesn't mean he can't become like your brother. You must do exactly what I had done; lead your student into a path of destruction, blood, and power. Littlesoul is no deputy, but she is the most feared warrior of BadgerClan. Now you must guide Cheetahkit to become as powerful, or more powerful, than her. Understand? It is no easy chore." Tigerstar looked back into a small pool of blood. The redness cleared up to see a tiny, newborn kit, pressed against his mother's belly along with his two siblings.

"Why can't I train Darkkit instead? He's much bigger and stronger-looking." Hawkfrost asked, glancing at his father.

"In mere future the runt will grow larger than him. Darkkit has no chance against Cheetahkit. Any more questions or do you want to begin your teachings?"

"But, when?" Tigerstar took a breath then chuckled at his son's profound questions.

"You will know. Trust me." And with that, Tigerstar stood and walked off into the darkness.

Hawkfrost watched him leave for a moment then turned back to the picture in the blood. 'No,' he thought, 'I cannot let him become like Brambleclaw, I won't.'

**Boo it's short x( But hey I managed to type up something :D Read and review I'll start on the next chapter as soon as I can! **


	2. Chapter 1

**Who missed me? :D Thank you to all the people who reviewed my story (Softwhisper of ShadowClan {Thanks, and it'll get way better. cx} and huzaifah {Thank you I try my best****}. NOW LET'S GET ON WITH THE FIRST CHAPTER SHALL WE?**

Chapter One:

"Who wants to hear a story?" A strong-looking black queen asked her three kits who were finishing up some prey.

"I do!" squealed all of them at the same time, a dull-tannish she-kit with amber eyes being the loudest.

"Gee, Lilykit, why are you so loud?" a grayish-black tom with yellow eyes grumbled at his sister, "Next time my ears are going to fall off!"

"Then your warrior name will be Darkno-ears! I'd like to see that!" Lilykit giggled, a yellowish tom with black spots and green eyes laughing with her.

"What are you laughing at, runt?" Darkkit growled in his brother's face.

"Darkkit! Leave Cheetahkit alone, and Lilykit, leave your little brother alone as well." Their mother glared with her unusual red eyes. Darkkit snorted in Cheetahkit's face and then slunk off to sit next to Lilykit.

"What's the story gonna' be about, Momma?" Cheetahkit asked, ignoring the stink of his younger brother's breath still in his face.

"How I received my warrior name. That, or how I killed my first cat." She purred.

"Littlesoul, don't tell them either of those," A dark brown tom poked his head into the nursery, setting his eyes on the queen and her kits. "They're three moons old; you don't want to give them nightmares about you, do you?"

"They won't get nightmares, Snakefang. I kitted three strong BadgerClanneers, not three weak TreeClanners!" Littlesoul pouted at her mate, and then turned back to her kits.

"Can't we hear both? It's not like we have to do anything, except lie around, chase things, or pester elders." Lilykit whined, shooting her famous "give me what I want" look at her mother.

"Well really, they're kind of combined. I'll tell you the whole thing just to get that look off your face." She said, patting her daughter on the head with a paw. Snakefang just rolled his eyes, turning around to pad away. "Once upon a time –"

"No!" Darkkit wailed, cutting off Littlesoul's intro. "If it's not a fake story, then don't start with 'once upon a time'!"

"Oops, sorry. Guess I'm just used to it, telling you three stories all the time." Their mother cleared her throat and began talking once more. "The first cat I ever killed was actually my foster mother, Violettail. Surprising, I know. But I had a good reason."

Lilykit gasped at her mother's confession. "When I was named an apprentice, she ended up being my mentor, thanks to crazy ol' Ashstar. So on my first training session, I cooked up a plan to get my revenge on her for naming me 'Littlekit'. All it brought me was teasing and tormenting, Littlepaw was even worse, since my paws were so small. But it was my first training session, so I didn't really know how to fight so well. Anyway, I told her that I scented a fox, which was obviously a lie since there are no foxes on BadgerClan turf, and she fell for it. I guess she somehow found a fox den, because I followed her to one. As her back was turned, a voice in my head told me what to do to her. So, I pounced onto her, threw her onto the ground, raked my claws against her flanks, you get the point. So as her life was dimming, I whispered into her ear, 'This is what you deserve for giving me this name. You caused all the teasing I've received all my life. You started it, and I'm ending it.' And with that, I ripped her throat out."

Darkkit stared at Littlesoul with a big grin. "Wow, Mom! You're so cool!" Cheetahkit could say the same, but he was silent.

"I know. But that's just the beginning. I had the nerve to clear her body of any traces of me and then run into the camp, yowling that she was dead. A few cats followed me, including Ashstar, your father, and my foster father, Shadowclaw. I told them that as we were training, she scented a fox and went to investigate, instructing me to stay put. But I followed her, watching the life drain from her eyes as a fox slunk in the other direction. Everyone believed that, luckily. Three moons later, Snakefang and I were good friends; he was really my only friend. So I told him what happened, and made him swear on his life and the warrior code to never tell a soul. And he never did. Two moons later, he and a pure enemy of mine named Diamondpaw were made warriors, her name changing to Diamondlight. She flirted with him all the time, but your father waited for me. The next moon I was made a warrior, but before Ashstar had announced my name, I confessed what really happened to Violettail. He didn't exile me, though, he just named me Littlesoul. The end, now go play." She licked each of her kits on the head once then rolled over in her nest, tired from telling stories.

"Hey Bluekit and Spottedkit, wanna' go play?" Darkkit called at his two tom-kit friends in the back of the nursery.

"Yeah!" A bluish-gray tom with silver eyes and black stripes said, prancing over to him.

"Count me in, Darkkit!" A black tom with blue eyes and several white spots chipped in, scrambling to his paws to follow his friends. "Oh, and leave Cheetahkit here this time, will you?"

"Don't blame me for last time! My mother told me to do it or else she'd cancel my apprentice ceremony." Darkkit defended himself, turning his head to sneer at his older brother, and then kept walking alongside his friends.

Cheetahkit sighed, laying down and resting his paws over his nose. 'Why am I so ignored? Just because I'm the runt, I have feelings too!' he thought. "Hey Cheetahkit, want to hear a secret? The only other cat that can know is Darkkit."

"Okay…" Cheetahkit took his paws off his snout and looked up at his younger sister.

"Mom's having another litter of kits!" Lilykit silently squealed. "That's why she's so tired all the time."

"Great, more siblings to tease me. Hurray." Cheetahkit rolled his eyes, turning his head away from her.

"Hey, just because Darkkit is mean doesn't mean the next few will be, too. Cheer up. I'll play with you if you want!" She got into a play position and swayed her tail. "Come on! You love to play!"

"Well not right now, Lilykit. I just want to be left alone." He snorted, slinking off into a corner. He sat down and let his head hang, his small shoulder blades more visible.

**Poor Cheetahkit****. Anyway, read and review! I accept criticism; it might make my story a teensy bit better if I listen to it. I'll continue to the next chapter as soon as I can!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hallo :D Sorry I was gone for so long - Reviews - (StingyNachos {Diamondlight eventually became so jealous over Littlesoul and Snakefang that she moved to IceClan and is now the mate of Cloudstar with two four-moon old kits. I'll involve her more in the story later. And thanks x3}, Steering the Stars {I try, and thanks for the tip. I'll remember it.}, and a Guest {I know right, but there's sweet revenge later on :D}) ON WITH CHAPTER TWO**

Chapter Two:

"What are you going to name them?" Lilykit asked as her mother had brought her three newborn kits into the nursery. She and her brothers huddled together to see the babies.

"I'm going to name this one Icekit," Littlesoul licked the top of a white she-kit's head, her ice blue eyes popping open in surprise "this one Kestrelkit," she did the same to a brown tom with black splotches, his dark blue eyes growing sleepy. "And the youngest, Honeykit." Doing the same to what appeared to be the runt of the three, the orange-yellow she-kit purred, and her light-green eyes met with her mother's as she grabbed her muzzle with her tiny paws.

"Ugh, was I that small when I was a newborn?" Darkkit grunted, eyeing the triplets with slight disgust.

"A bit bigger than Icekit, but yes, just about." Littlesoul patted her son on the head and curled her tail around the newborns. "Now that I'll be busy with these little fur-balls, you will all have to listen to Cheetahkit, since he is the oldest."

"WHAT?!" Darkkit yowled, loud enough for NightClan to hear. "BUT I'M THE BIGGEST, I'M THE STRONGEST, THE SMARTEST! MOTHER YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY PUT THIS SCRAP OF FUR IN CHARGE OF ME AND LILYKIT!"

Cheetahkit pinned his ears against his skull and stiffened. "Just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't watch over two other kits my age!" he snarled, baring his fangs. Darkkit was obviously taken aback; Cheetahkit had never stood up to him before.

Littlesoul opened her mouth as if to say something, but then quickly shut it. "It's about time I started standing up to you, Darkkit. I'm tired of being picked on and –" Darkkit shut his brother up by cuffing him around the ear, hard.

"Shut up, runt!"

"Darkkit, that's enough." Littlesoul grabbed him by the scruff and stood, the newborns squealing and squirming now that she was away. She snagged his nest with her claws and dragged it to a wall of the nursery, well away from his friends or family. She dropped him into his nest ignoring the surprised yelp at impact. "You will be sleeping here until you're an apprentice. You will also not be allowed to play or leave the nursery until then. Understood?"

"BUT –"

Littlesoul glared at him and somewhat gently hit his shoulder with a paw. "I said, understood?"

Darkkit turned towards the wall. "Understood." He mumbled. Littlesoul trotted away back to her nest, lying down next to her kits. Cheetahkit snorted and sat down.

"Cheetahkit, now you only have to watch Lilykit. Both of you go to sleep. You need your rest if you want to be strong warriors like me or your father." She pressed her nose against her son's and daughter's then rested her head on her paws, closing her eyes.

"Come on Cheetahkit." Lilykit nudged his shoulder and then sleepily walked to her nest, curling up quickly. Cheetahkit followed, reaching his nest and doing the same.

"Cheetahkit…" he woke to a deep yet faint voice calling his name.

"Wh-who's there?" the tom-kit whispered, trying not to wake anyone. He looked towards the entrance of the den, squinting slightly. Suddenly, two ice-cold eyes were staring right in his direction, looking at him as if he were prey. "Sh-show yourself!" He leapt to his paws, standing in an attack position. Lightning flashed, the light showing it was a large tabby tom standing right outside the nursery.

"Hello, young one. You look like you don't know who I am." He chuckled, staring down at Cheetahkit with a piercing gaze.

"I-I don't. Who are you? I've never seen you here before." He gulped, lowering his ears.

"I am Hawkfrost, your great, great, grandfather. I'm here to train you to become the most fearsome leader you could possibly be. That is if you're up for it. I could always train your brother instead…"

"NO! I mean…No, I'm up for it. Er…Why did you arrive so late?" Cheetahkit relaxed, sitting down.

"Well we can't do this at dawn." Hawkfrost snorted, vanishing into thin air. All that was left was a hawk's feather.

"Huh?" Cheetahkit cautiously walked over to the feather. He sniffed it, and then poked it with a paw.

"Pick it up. I am going to lead you to somewhere you will never forget." The tabby's voice rang in his ears. Cheetahkit did as he was told, then followed the directions Hawkfrost gave him. Soon he was staring at a mouth of a long cave, the moon shined above it, making it glow blue.

"What is this place?" Cheetahkit asked in awe, about to step inside.

"WAIT!" Hawkfrost's booming voice rang through his head, the feather he was holding onto disappearing. The tabby then appeared next to him, eyes colder than before. "You must swear that you will never tell anyone about what you are going to experience in this cave. If you do, you will lose everything you receive in here."

"I swear. What will I get?"

"You'll see, follow me." Hawkfrost led Cheetahkit into the cave until they reached a large stone, sparking in the moonlight from the hole in the roof above it. "Welcome to the MoonStone. It's where leaders receive their nine lives."

"Why did you bring me here?" Cheetahkit asked suspiciously as Hawkfrost walked from his side to get a closer look at the silvery stone. He was no leader; he was barely even leader material.

"You are going to receive your nine lives tonight, my student." He glanced at him with a smirk.

"What?! But I'm only a kit; that has to be against the warrior code or something!"

"Oh but it's not. Well, at least that's what I remember. If you want to overrun Darkkit then you must trust me. Don't you want to at least taste a little revenge?" Hawkfrost snapped. Cheetahkit thought for a moment. 'Well, I guess a little revenge would be nice. But if this goes to far then I'm out!'

"Alright, Hawkfrost, I'm in."

"Perfect! Now just press your nose against the stone and you will eventually fall asleep. I'll meet you there." He vanished again, no hawk's feather this time, though.

Cheetahkit did as he was told, pressing his small nose against the cold rock. He awoke in a small clearing, water splashing against a bank nearby. 'This isn't so bad. I wonder who's going to give me my lives.' He thought, taking a deep breath of air. 'That's funny.' The air smelled like blood. He blinked, opening his eyes to a nightmare. Black, dead grass was surrounding him, the water was now blood, the trees lost their leaves and there were nine dead bodies lying in front of him.

He was petrified. "What happened?!"

Spirits rose from the dead bodies, each, except for three, glaring at him with deadly stares. In order, there was Hawkfrost, a another tabby about his size and color but with amber eyes, a pretty tan she-cat with brown paws, a few brown stripes going up her legs brown ears, and green eyes, a small, black tom with one white paw, icy eyes like Hawkfrost and a red collar studded with what appeared to be teeth, a dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes and a bend in the middle of his tail, a mottled, pale tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, a black and white tom also with green eyes and a blue collar also studded with what appeared to be teeth, many scars, a dark gray tabby tom with yellow eyes, and a golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes. The she-cats were standing in regular, green grass.

"Wh-who are all of you? Well, b-besides Hawkfrost." Cheetahkit stammered.

Hawkfrost smirked and introduced them all. "So many names. It's Tigerstar, Sasha, Scourge, Brokenstar, Tawnypelt, Bone, Darkstripe, and…Who?" Cheetahkit meowed.

"Mothwing." Hawkfrost repeated her name. "Anyway, we're the cats who are going to give you your lives, like it or not." He walked up to Cheetahkit, his eyes starting to glow. The kit's eyes began to glow green. "I, Hawkfrost, give Cheetahkit the life of ambition." He shut his eyes in pain, opening them to see that the tabby had vanished. Tigerstar stepped up to him.

Their eyes began to glow as they had done before. "I, Tigerstar, give Cheetahkit the life of intelligence and secrets." Again, Cheetahkit shut his eyes in pain, opening them to seven cats a tail's length away from him. Sasha had walked up to him now.

"Is this going to hurt too?" He flattened his ears.

"No, young one. Mothwing, Tawnypelt, and I are from StarClan. The lives we give you will not hurt one bit." She chuckled, ruffling up the fur on his head with a paw.

Cheethkit smoothed out his fur. "If you three are from StarClan, then where are the others from?"

Sasha looked behind her to glance at Scourge. The tom shook his head, his teeth-collar rattling a bit. She looked back to the kit. "Let's just say they're not exactly from StarClan, they're in a different place. But don't worry, I'll protect you." Her eyes started to glow, along with Cheetahkit's. "I give Cheetahkit the life of love and protection." This time, Cheetahkit shut his eyes in peace, not pain, opening them to six cats left. Scourge stepped up, glaring into the kit's eyes with pure hatred and…something else.

The same routine went on; Scourge gave him the live of pure hatred and revenge, Brokenstar gave him the life of insanity, Tawnypelt gave him the life of determination and devotion, Bone gave him the life of pride and stubbornness, Darkstripe gave him the life of loyalty, and Mothwing gave him the life of trust. Cheetahkit was sore with the pain he was caused, but it wasn't as bad as it might have been without the she-cats' help. He awoke with his nose still pressed against the cold stone. He backed away tiredly, his body aching. "See? Wasn't that easy?" Hawkfrost appeared next to him with a smirk on his face.

"No, I'm in a lot of pain and it's almost dawn! I need to get back to camp before anyone notices my disappearance!" He growled.

"No time to waste then." Hawkfrost picked him up by the scruff and vanished, taking Cheetahkit with him. Soon they were back in the nursery, everyone still sound asleep. "Hurry, get into your nest and act normal."

Cheetahkit did as he was told. "When will I see you again?" He asked, looking behind him to see that Hawkfrost was gone already. "O-ok…I guess." He mumbled, slowly closing his eyes to get a much-deserved good-night's rest.


	4. Chapter 3

**OMG I'm so sorry for the long wait; the computer crashed, then we had to get a new one, then we had this fiasco with Best Buy and BLAGH. But I'm back now ;D I know that the MoonStone isn't used in the books in the lake territories but I don't like the MoonPool, that's all. :3 If I messed up with some of the dead warriors'/rogues'/medicine cat's personalities/special talents/traits then I'm sorry, but I don't care. On with the story, shall we? :D**

"Cheetahkit, do you accept the responsibilities of becoming an apprentice? And do you uphold the warrior code with your life?" Quailstar asked the now six-moon old kit, sitting under the Great Rock.

"I do." He said, trying to hide his excitement.

"Then, until you receive your warrior name, you shall always be referred to as, Cheetahpaw. Your mentor will be Blackthorn." A tall, laid-back, ebony tom with one white paw and green eyes approached the new apprentice, briefly touching noses and then sitting next to him. Quailstar turned his head to Lilykit. "Lilykit, do you accept the responsibilities of becoming an apprentice? And do you uphold the warrior code with your life?"

"I do!" She yelped, sinking her claws into the ground to keep her from jumping into the air.

"Then, until you receive your warrior name, you shall always be referred to as, Lilypaw. Your mentor will be Riversong." A lithe, pretty, gray she-cat with one black ear and blue eyes stepped towards Lilypaw, briefly touching noses before sitting next to her. The leader then turned to look at Darkkit, a bit of smugness in the kit's face. "Darkkit, do you accept the responsibilities of becoming an apprentice? And do you uphold the warrior code with your life?"

"I do." He snorted, obviously impatient to become an apprentice.

"Then, until you receive your warrior name, you shall always be referred to as, Darkpaw. Your mentor will be Eaglegaze." A toned, stone-faced, light brown tom with a white muzzle, chest, and belly and his left eye being yellow and the right one being blue padded to his new apprentice, briefly touching noses and then taking a seat beside him.

"Pssst! Cheetahpaw!" a voice silently called behind the spotted tom. He turned around to see Honeykit poking at his tail.

"Honeykit, you're supposed to be in the nursery, and I'm supposed to pay attention right now." He told her, tucking his tail under him.

"Oh come on, it's almost over! You can't even let me play with your tail?" the small she-kit whined, her eyes growing big and a small pout resting on her maw.

"You learned that from Lilypaw, didn't you?" Honeykit shook her head. "Fine, but no biting and try to keep quiet." Cheetahpaw untucked his tail and rested it next to his sister.

"Your mentor will be Weaselstripe." Quailsar announced Bluepaw's her mentor.

"I got you now, mouse-brained TreeClanner!" Honeykit squeaked throwing herself onto her brother's tail, showing no mercy.

Cheetahpaw sank his claws into the ground to keep him from yelping in pain. "You broke one of our rules, keep quiet!" He silently snapped at her, trying not to be too aggressive.

"Oops, sorry." Honeykit started nibbling on his tail, looking at him innocently.

He rolled his eyes, focusing back on the ceremony just in time to hear that Spottedpaw's new mentor was Sunclaw. "Clan dismissed." Quailstar trotted towards his den, the medicine cat following him a tail-length away.

"Ok, it's the nursery for you." Cheetahpaw grabbed Honeykit's scruff, carrying her to the nursery.

"No fair! It's so boring in the nursery, I want to come training with you!" She squealed trying to squirm her way out of his grasp.

"All you need is three moons, then you'll be out and about with me, Lilypaw, and Darkpaw. But until then, you can play with Icekit and Kestrelkit." Cheetahpaw dropped her off at the nursery entrance before Darkpaw, Bluepaw, and Spottedpaw came strutting over, smirks on their faces. Cheetahpaw glared at them, 'What do those snake-hearts want now?'

"How's it goin' runt one and runt two? Me and these two are going training, not surprised you weren't invited. Eaglegaze only settles for the best, and your lookin' at it!" the black apprentice smugly gave a toothy grin.

Cheetahpaw put a paw in front of Honeykit. "Then shouldn't you be out training? I wouldn't want to be the one keeping Eaglegaze waiting."

"He's kind of right, Darkpaw. Eaglegaze is going to be awful mad if we stall too long," Spottedpaw meowed.

"SILENCE!" Darkpaw snarled, not bothering to turn around. Spottedpaw shrank down a little, ignoring the muffled laughs coming from Bluepaw.

"Snake-heart." Honeykit murmured. Cheetahpaw glanced at her in shock, but quickly looked back to his brother.

Darkpaw glared at the kit. "Oh, you want to play that game, huh?" He flicked his tail in Cheetahpaw's direction. Bluepaw pounced onto Cheetahpaw, pushing him over and then taking a step back. The black apprentice raised a paw, one claw unsheathed, about to slam it against Honeykit's face.

"No!" Cheetahpaw tripped Bluepaw, quickly leaping to his paws and lunging at Darkpaw. He grunted at impact, his expression as surprised as his brother.

"H-how'd you do that?" Spottedpaw asked. 'How did I do that?' Cheetahpaw thought, still staring at his brother's face.

"Burst of energy? I have no idea. But I'm positive it'll happen again if you three aren't careful." He said, glancing at Bluepaw and Spottedpaw before resting a hard glare on Darkpaw.

"Whatever," he pushed him off, getting to his paws before shaking some grass off his pelt. "Let's go, guys, this scrap of fur isn't worth it." Darkpaw walked towards the camp entrance, saying something to Eaglegaze before his followers caught up.

"Thank's Cheetahpaw!" Honeykit leapt onto her brother, nibbling and pawing at his fur. Cheetahpaw broke into a content laughter as he pretended to be pinned down by his baby sister.

"Any time, I will always stand up for you." He rolled onto his back, Honeykit laying on his chest. She reached a paw out and touched his nose with it.

"Promise?" Cheetahpaw paused for a moment, looking for the right words to say.

"I swear on my life and everything that I hold dear to my heart that I will forever and always protect you, no matter what state I'm in. You can trust me with anything." He told her. She smiled and buried her head in his fur.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Honeykit."

**Heart-warming moment x3 Again I'm so sorry for the hold-up, I'll be working on this more often ;) {Spoiler Alert} In the next chapter Cheetah's going to find a lady-friend *wink wink***


	5. Chapter 4

**(Nothing really to write up here…Do you people even read these things?)**

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" Honeykit wailed, clinging onto Cheetahpaw's tail as he dragged her towards the camp entrance.

"I'm going to talk with Riversong, wait for me here." Blackthorn told his apprentice, walking towards the she cat a fox-length away from them.

"Okay, Blackthorn. Honeykit, I'm real sorry but you're only three moons, you can't be outside the campgrounds without a responsible adult." Cheetahpaw grabbed her scruff and pulled her from his tail, setting her gently in front of him.

"But Icekit, Kestrelkit, and me are the only kits in the nursery!"

"Not true, there's Leopardkit, too." Cheetahpaw argued, glancing at a light tan kit with leopard spots and light amber eyes playing with Icekit.

Honeykit pouted. "Blackthorn and Riversong are adults!"

"Who said they were responsible? You know Blackthorn, all play and no work. While as for Riversong, he usually drags her into the fun." Cheetahpaw grinned. His sister sighed, pawing at the ground. "Aw, don't be like that."

"Cheetahpaw! We're leaving, hurry up!" Lilypaw called, standing next to Riversong and Blackthorn.

"Got to go, see you later." He licked her head and ran towards his other sister, pawing at her face.

"Get off me, mouse-brain." She flicked his ear with the tip of her tail and started walking out of camp beside her mentor.

"Let the she-cats take the lead this time, you know how they are, having three sisters and all." Blackthorn said to Cheetahpaw before starting to walk behind them.

"Tell me about it, Honeykit is alright, but she's…"

"You two done talking about us? We'll show you what we're capable of in the training hollow." Riversong said to them. "Stupid toms."

Blackthorn chuckled, pricking his ears to the sound of a robin flying overhead. "You ever tasted robin?" Cheetahpaw shook his head. "It's great, almost as good as fish."

"Can't wait to try it then." He said before stopping suddenly.

"We're here, who wants to hunt first?" Riversong meowed, sitting down next to a big, flat rock.

"Me!" Lilypaw and Cheetahpaw said at the same time, giving each other a stare-down afterwards.

"I think Cheetahpaw should hunt first, show us what he's got for a big, strong tom, eh?" Riversong snorted, giving him a look.

"Ok, I think I saw something near the river," he said, looking behind him.

"Careful, the river is the border between us and TreeClan, don't cross it by mistake." Blackthorn said before Cheetahpaw bolted towards the river.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back!"

Cheetahpaw was about two whiskers away from a water vole nibbling at a seed. 'Ok Cheetahpaw, it's just one little vole, how hard can it be? You've done it with mother's tail.' He bunched up his haunches and balanced himself, holding his breath. He pounced onto it, snapping its neck at impact. "I knew it'd be easy!"

"Hey!" A voice in front of him growled. He looked up to see a pretty tan she-cat with brown stripes going up her legs and tail and brown ears. She had ice blue eyes and a pink nose. He was left speechless. "What do you think you're doing on TreeClan territory?"

Cheetahpaw stood and looked behind him to see the river. 'Uh oh.' "And that's TreeClan prey! Give it back!" She was about to swipe it from him, but he was too fast for her. He grabbed it with his jaws and then twisted around, leaping over the river. "Get back here!"

"Can't make me." Once he was settles on his own territory, he dropped the vole at his feet. "Do you know who I am? I happen to be the son of Littlesoul."

She gasped, "Littlesoul?! No wonder you're so careless."

"Oh yeah?" He stepped closer to the river, standing on the edge so he can get in her face.

"Yeah, thief!" She did the same, they were now in an intense stare-down. This went on for about a couple of seconds before she giggled and pulled her head back. "You're cute for a BadgerClanner. What's your name?"

Cheetahpaw paused for a moment, pulling his head back as well. He finally snapped back to reality. "Cheetahpaw. What's yours?"

"Bluepaw, my mentor's waiting for me a well way away. I'm supposed to be hunting."

"Really? Me too. This is my first training session." He said, nudging the water vole aside so he can sit down.

"Oh, I'm eight moons old, so it's like my nine hundredth or something." She laughed, sitting down as well.

"Lucky, you're four moons closer to becoming a warrior! I've got six moons to go."

Bluepaw smiled. "It passes by fast, trust me."

"Bluepaw!" A voice called behind her.

"Oops, gotta' go. See you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Definitely. Don't forget!" he called after her.

"Well done, Cheetahpaw!" Snakefang praised his son as he walked into camp with three pieces of prey dangling from his jaws.

"Danks Snekfan, it wa fun." Cheetahpaw said with his mouth full. He dropped the prey on the fresh-kill pile and stretched.

"No way you killed all that! Not a pipsqueak like you!" Darkpaw came running towards him, scanning the prey he brought back.

"There's the proof. I can do much more then you think I'm capable of, Darkpaw. You're flea-sized brain just doesn't understand."

Darkpaw snarled, lunging at him and pinning him down, sinking his claws into his shoulders. Cheetahpaw yelped. Before a warrior could get to them, Lilypaw pounced onto Darkpaw and shoved him off her older brother, pinning him down. "That's what a she-cat can do, silly toms." She turned her head to look at Cheetahpaw and Blackthorn.

"Cheetahpaw are you alright?" Blackthorn asked, looking at his wounds.

"I'm fine, it's not like his claws were that sharp anyway. Dull, if you ask me."

"Let me up, I need to shred that big-mouthed runt!" Darkpaw squirmed, but he couldn't get out of Lilypaw's grip.

"Go to Rosesky and get them looked at anyway, you can't continue training if you have open wounds like that." Blackthorn told him.

"Fine." Cheetahpaw walked to the medicine cat's den to see a light reddish she-cat organizing herbs.

"Oh, hello, Cheetahpaw. Did you have fun training?" She turned around and looked at him with her yellow eyes. He nodded and sat in an extra nest meant for her patients. "Blackthorn scratched you up bad, these are really deep."

"It wasn't Blackthorn, it was Darkpaw." He murmured. Rosesky nodded, walking towards the back of the den to get some cobweb and herbs. She came back and started chewing a few herbs.

"This may sting a little," she said as she spit the pulp into her paw and pressed it against his left shoulder. He hissed, sinking his claws into the ground. "Sorry, just one more time on your other shoulder and you'll be done." She promised, wrapping cobweb around his left shoulder to keep the pulp in place. The same routine went on with his right shoulder, she gave him some poppy seeds to eat and told him to stay in the nest and get some rest. He ate the seeds and fell asleep a couple minutes later.

"Hello, my student." Cheetahpaw heard Hawkfrost's voice in front of him. It was very foggy, so he could barely see him. "Remember when you stood up to your brother today? Or when you snapped at that she-cat, Bluepaw? Or how about the time, when you caught all that prey?"

"Wait a minute, you…did that?"

"Correct, it appears you're not so mouse-brained after all." He could feel the large tabby circling him.

"What about when I attacked Darkpaw yesterday, what was that?" Cheetahpaw asked, sitting down.

"That was just sense of protection for Honeykit, don't you remember being given the life of protection from my mother?" Hawkfrost snapped. 'Oh, right.'

"Why did you do all that for me? I want to show everyone how powerful I really am!" He growled.

"I know, I know, but without my help you'll get nowhere. It's just until you're seven moons, then I'll train you instead of taking control of your body and then doing things that no one would believe you can actually do." The dead warrior mumbled the last part, but it was still as clear as water to Cheetahpaw.

"What do you mean by 'train me'? I already have a mentor."

"Obviously, I'm going to train you in your dreams. One night I'll train you something, then the next night you'll dream about whatever. Every other night, basically." Hawkfrost explained.

Cheetahpaw thought for a moment, "What can you possibly train me what Blackthorn can't?" he started finding it a little hard to breathe. "And what's with all the fog?" Hawkfrost's eyes shone through the fog, staring strait at Cheetahpaw's.

"You are waking up, so I must say this quickly. I can teach you so much more than what any BadgerClan warrior can teach you, than what ANY warrior can teach you. All you need to do is to trust me, didn't my sister give you the life of trust?"

"Fine Hawkfrost, just don't let me down." He muttered. Hawkfrost's eyes dimmed, and everything went black.

**SUSPENSE…If you're confused for any reason (why would you be?) then just ask me a question(s) in the comments or something :3 No reviews for this one…wow…either I'm frickin FABULOUS or ya'll are too lazy, cuz if you are I totally understand your pain. And either way, I'M FABULOUS ;D**


	6. Chapter 5

**REVIEWS: Darkblaze (Thanks, I shall :3)**

"Honeykit, if Cheetahpaw wouldn't take you with him I'm sure Lilypaw won't want to, either." Kestrelkit told her.

"Hey," Cheetahpaw walked up to them, smiling at Honeykit's excited gaze, "you two talking about me and Lilypaw?"

"Honeykit really wants to come training with you guys." Kestrelkit sighed, ignoring his younger sister nibbling on his ear. "She's real bored, as you can see, I don't think I taste like kestrel."

"No one would know anyway, a warrior hasn't killed a big bird like that in generations." Cheetahpaw pried Honeykit from Kestrelkit's ear before he felt breathing on the back of his neck. He whipped his head around but there was no one behind him.

"Meet me in the training hollow after dark." He heard Hawkfrost's voice in his ears, echoing softly.

"Cheetahpaw?" Honeykit snapped him back into reality, "Hello?"

"Huh, what happened?"

"You blanked out on us. And I think Blackthorn wants to see you." Honeykit pointed with her tail at Cheetahpaw's mentor standing next to Eaglegaze and Darkpaw at the camp entrance.

"Great. See you guys later." He muttered, lazily trotting towards them.

"Hey, Cheetahpaw, ready for training?" Blackthorn asked, ignoring the irritated snort from Eaglegaze.

"Ready or not, we're going training. Darkpaw and I are going to start walking."

"Don't wait up." Cheetahpaw grunted as they exited the camp.

"They're both a pain in our tails, I know, but it's just one time. We all need to try something new once in a while." Blackthorn nudged his shoulder with a paw, "Come on, it's just a few fighting moves and speaking to badgers, not too much."

His eyes lit up, "Speaking to _badgers_? I'm in!"

"I thought so. Race ya!" his mentor bolted out of camp, Cheetahpaw hot on his heels. They raced until they reached the training hollow, seeing Eaglegaze teach Darkpaw something.

"I won! You owe me…a robin." He panted, Blackthorn falling over in exhaustion.

"Alright…Fine…" The warrior groaned.

"Blackthorn! This is your apprentice, not your friend. Have a little pride in your work, you're acting like you're still ten moons old." Eaglegaze growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Age is just a number, you can be thirty two moons and still have the soul of thirteen moons. Unless you would choose to be uptight, like you." Blackthorn pushed himself to his paws. The senior warrior snorted, turning to face his apprentice. "Who wants to talk to badgers?"

"I do!" Cheetahpaw instantly regained all of his energy.

"We're going to fight, first." Darkpaw growled.

"Fine, suit yourself." He snorted at his brother, ignoring the piercing yellow gaze.

Blackthorn led Cheetahpaw into a large clearing. "This is where we call badgers for training, attacks, and stuff like that. Wait here." He walked to a tree stump, jumping onto it and yowling. "Wait for it." Soon, a large badger emerged from a nearby bush, its large paws kicking up dirt. It roared in Cheetahpaw's direction, baring its big, yellow teeth. "Hey, it's me, Blackthorn." He stepped in front of the badger, looking straight into its eyes. The badger sat down, pointing its nose at Cheetahpaw and roaring, except this roar was a bit calmer and quieter. "That's my apprentice, Cheetahpaw. He's going to learn how to communicate with you, today. Cheetahpaw, come up to X."

"X? Is that his name or something?" He asked as he cautiously walked up to the badger. It roared again, the same way it had done to Blackthorn. "Uh…what'd he say?"

"He said X is his name. next time he speaks to you, listen very closely and try to focus on only the roar. Ask another question."

Cheetahpaw looked up at X, and thought. "Have you known Blackthorn for a while now?" he pricked his ears and tried to focus only on the badger's roar.

"Yes, ever since he was about your age." Is what Cheetahpaw heard very clearly.

"I heard him, I understood him!" He said excitedly.

"It's not that hard, huh? You just have to focus. That's why we wait until apprentices are about seven moons to put them in front of a badger. Thanks, X. Until next time." Blackthorn noticed a small scuffling in the bushes. He pounced onto it, claws first, and then after a few seconds came back out with a rat dangling from his jaws. "Here you go." He threw the rat in the air. X lifted his head and caught it in his jaws, nodding at the two before padding away.

They walked back to the training hollow, just in time to see Darkpaw pin Eaglegaze down, claws at throat. "Great job, Darkpaw. I can already tell you're going to be a great warrior, like me, in your future."

"Badgers are cool." Cheetahpaw interrupted their little mentor-apprentice-bonding-time.

"He learned to understand X on his second try, very impressive if you ask me." Blackthorn chipped in.

"Please!" Darkpaw snorted at his brother, getting off of his mentor and standing nose-to-nose with him. "I bet I can understand a badger on my first try!"

"Okay, good luck with that."

"Before we go to the badger hollow, Darkpaw, you and your brother will spar." Eaglegaze said as he stood, shaking dust from his fur.

"What? But I didn't teach him anything you've been teaching him when were weren't here." Blackthorn growled.

"What a shame. Get in your positions!" He told the apprentices. Darkpaw still had his claws unsheathed as he and Cheetahpaw stood in front of each other, each staring at the other with deadly stares. "Go!"

Cheetahpaw rammed into Darkpaw, head-first, sending him flying. He regained his balance, lunging at his brother and raking his claws against his left cheek. Cheetahpaw yelped at the blow, stumbling a bit as Darkpaw pounced onto him and pinned him against the ground. He kicked him off, ignoring the blood dripping down his face as he got to his paws. The black apprentice snarled as he lunged at his brother again, this time taking ahold of his ear. As he landed a whisker behind Cheetahpaw, half of his left ear hung from his jaws. "That's enough!" Blackthorn raced into the fight and stood in between the two toms. "You will be punished for this, Darkpaw. Everyone knows they sheath their claws during a spar! And–"

"I'm fine, Blackthorn." Cheetahpaw interrupted his mentor, ignoring the confused looks shot at him for it. "A few scars never made a warrior weaker, it made them stronger."

"Though that is true, wouldn't you enjoy seeing Darkpaw clean out the elder's den?" Blackthorn chuckled. Cheetahpaw nodded.

"Session's over, come on." Eaglegaze announced, starting to walk out of the training hollow. Blackthorn and Cheetahpaw followed behind him and Darkpaw.

"Where are you going?" Lilypaw asked, making Cheetahpaw stop in his tracks. He was heading towards the camp entrance to meet Bluepaw again.

"Err…For a walk. I might catch a few frogs or rats along the way." He turned around to face her, ignoring the unsettled look in her eyes at his new scars.

"Alone? I can come with you, if you–"

"I'm fine, Lilypaw," he insisted, "Honeykit could use a friend, though. She's always bored." Cheetahpaw then turned around and walked out of camp. 'I hope Bluepaw isn't angry that I'm late, again.' He quickly made it to the river and looked around, expecting a sandy-colored tabby to be standing on the other side with a sweet little glimmer in her eye. Nope. Not a soul on the TreeClan side of the border. "That's odd. Usually I'm the late one. Bluepaw! Bluepaw, are you there?" He walked alongside the river for a bit until he reached the NightClan border. He looked around.

"Get back here!" He heard a voice from NightClan's side, seeing a small, black she-cat with glowing purple eyes pop out of a bush, chasing a mouse. "Gotcha!" She squealed as she pounced on the mouse, sinking her small claws into it. She looked up to see Cheetahpaw watching her, an amused look in his eye. She pinned her ears back and nudged the mouse into a nearby holly bush, eyeing him with extreme caution.

"No need to be afraid," he said, "BadgerClan and NightClan have had a truce for generations. I'm not going to harm you." She slowly stood, walking towards the border until she was a whisker away from him on the edge of the border.

"Wh-who are you? Why are you here?" she asked, her voice as dainty as she looked with a British accent added on.

"I'm Cheetahpaw, and I was supposed to meet a friend on the TreeClan border, but she doesn't seem to be showing up any time soon." He put on a gentle face, which was hard to do with his scars. 'Strange, NightClan cats are usually busy at sundown.'

She eyed him for a while before speaking, "I'm Ravenpaw, I just became an apprentice today, this is my first–" she stopped talking when she saw his ear, apparently she had no care in the world for his cheek but his ear was just so interesting. "Oh my, what happened to your ear?! I've never seen an ear so…torn!"

Cheetahpaw twitched his torn ear, making her gasp. 'Hah, this is kind of fun.' "I was in a fight. No big deal."

"I've never been in a real fight before. But my mentor told me that he'd take me battle training after I've caught two mice. The one I caught in front of you was my first." She said, her gaze still on his left ear.

"It's nice to see a new apprentice every once in a while, it reminds me of when I was still six moons. I'm seven, now."

"Lucky." Ravenpaw giggled, sitting down.

"CHEETAHPAW!" he heard Bluepaw screech his name. He turned his head to see the TreeClanner with bared teeth and ears pinned back. "What are you doing with this, runt?!"

Cheetahpaw growled, "Ravenpaw is more than a _runt_, Bluepaw. She is an apprentice with plenty of personality, strength, and moxie. Just like me. And we're just friends, uh…we are friends, right?" he looked at Ravenpaw. She nodded, a smile on her face. Bluepaw was doing anything but smiling.

"But she _is_ a she-cat from a Clan that you're compatible with! I don't want you to have anything to do with her, I'll wait where we usually meet." And with that, she lashed her tail as she turned around, padding beside the river.

"Hope she falls in." Ravenpaw snorted when she wasn't in ear-shot. Cheetahpaw laughed.

"Don't worry, we'll still be friends, just not when she's around. Deal?"

"Deal." Ravenpaw blinked, "I should get back to hunting, see you." She turned around and grabbed her mouse, trotting back to where she came from. He stood and walked down the river, seeing Bluepaw after a while.

"Still mad that I was making friends?" Cheetahpaw asked with a snicker, sitting on the edge of the river. She glared at him.

"If you keep hanging out with her she'll eventually be more than your friend." Bluepaw wrapped her tail around her paws, not making eye contact with him.

"So what you're saying is, you don't trust me."

"No, that's not at all what I'm saying!"

"Well that's all I'm hearing!" Cheetahpaw growled, standing up. "Why? Is it because I'm from the bad side of the forest? Or because–"

"Cheetahpaw, stop it!" Bluepaw stood and cuffed him around the ear, his good one. "I do trust you, I'm just jealous, alright? I admit that I'm jealous, is that what you wanted to hear?" she pinned her ears back. He paused for a moment, glaring into her eyes.

"Fine," he sat back down, his ears pinned, "don't be jealous though. You're the only she-cat in the whole forest that's worth looking at. I should go, I've been away from camp for too long." He stood up and left before she had the chance to say goodbye.

Cheetahpaw walked towards the nursery, Honeykit dangling from his jaws. "But I miss sleeping next to you! Why not just this one time?"

"If you've dealt with it for a moon you can deal with it for two more. When those two moons pass then you'll be Honeypaw, and you can pick a nest next to mine, okay?" he told her after he put her gently on the grass in front of the nursery. She looked at him with big, light green eyes. She looked a lot like him, except her fur was the color of the fur in his ears, and she had no spots, and her eyes were light green instead of just…green.

"Okay…Night, Cheetahpaw." She rubbed up against his leg and then scurried into the nursery, crashing into Icekit.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!"

"Oops, sorry!"

Cheetahpaw chuckled quietly as he walked back towards the apprentice's den, ready for a good-nights rest. Then something in his mind clicked. 'Mouse dung, I was supposed to meet Hawkfrost in the training hollow. Odd, though, he told me he'd train me in my dreams.' He shrugged, looking around. 'Too many cats, I'll wait until most of them are asleep.' He padded into the apprentice's den and laid down in his nest, pretending to fall asleep. Soon, just as he was about to dose off, he realized that all he heard was silent snoring. 'Time to go.' He forced his eyes open, quietly standing up and sneaking out of the den. He saw that the only other cats out were the guards in front of the entrance, Blackthorn and Cheetahpaw's father, Snakefang. They were quietly chatting about something; him, he hoped. He snuck out of a secret exit behind the apprentice's den he had found when he first checked it out.

He walked for what seemed like moons before he finally found the training hollow. "Okay, Hawkfrost, I'm here! What do you want?" A light blue mist formed in front of Cheetahpaw, sparkling under the moonlight.

"Why so tense? Loosen up a bit, I haven't done anything yet." Hawkfrost's voice echoed throughout the hollow. The apprentice did as he was told, sitting down and pricking his ears, just in case. "Good…" he said. Cheetahpaw felt claws down across his back. He yowled, turning his head to look at the damage. As he did that, claws were raked across his face, reopening the scars on his cheek and causing him to fall over. Blood was oozing from his face and his back. Hawkfrost appeared from the mist and stared at his student. "Lesson one: Never be relaxed, always stay alert and aware."

"But…you told me to–"

"Lesson two: Don't listen to the enemy. The enemy tells you to do something, you do the opposite." He nudged Cheetahpaw hard. "Get up." He got to his paws weakly. "What did I just say?" He raked his claws against his shoulder.

"Are you going to keep hurting me, or are you going to teach me something worth while?" Cheetahpaw growled, unsheathing his claws. Hawkfrost smirked.

"Both. Think fast!" He swung his paw towards his face, claws unsheathed. He grabbed Hawkfrost's wrist with his teeth before he had a chance to hit him again. Cheetahpaw then yanked at the paw, causing his mentor to collapse. He let go, watching blood drip from his paw. The blood was black. "Very good. Use that move on Blackthorn or Darkpaw, see how they react." Hawkfrost got to his paws, only to be tripped by Cheetahpaw and fall over again. His student pressed his paw against his throat, claws still unsheathed, glaring into his eyes. He pushed him off, getting to his paws. "I see you're starting to take this seriously. You should get back to camp, Lilypaw is worried." And with that, Hawkfrost vanished into thin air.

"Oh no, Lilypaw is going to ask me a ton of questions, how am I going to explain my disappearance?" Cheetahpaw sighed, running back to camp. As he ran, the blood and scars on his back disappeared, leaving no trace that he had been touched. He snuck back into the apprentice's den, throwing himself into his nest.

"Cheetahpaw? Are you asleep?" He heard Lilypaw ask. He groaned. "Okay, night." She crawled back to her nest, which wasn't too far away from his.

"Until tomorrows dream, my student. Oh, did I say dream? I meant _nightmare_." Were Hawkfrost's last words to Cheetahpaw before he fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 6

**omg so so so so sorry for the hold up, i had intense writer's block 3 REVIEWS: bob (whats with the dots bro? is there something wrong? ;3;), Icelilly (like cupcakes? i agree, but cats don't eat cupcakes. -shrug-), and snowstripe482 (d'aww stahp it :3 {don't stahp}), NoName (lol yes she actually is, I might bring it up later if I remember.) btw Diamondlight finally gets mentioned later in the chapter in a Gathering YEY…nawt really. here we go B3**

Chapter Seven:

"Honeypaw? Honeypaw! Honeypaw, where are you?" Cheetahpaw was calling, running through a dark forest with way too many trees. "I'm not playing right now, Honeypaw!" he heard an ear-splitting scream.

"CHEETAHPAW!"

"I'm coming! Hang on!" he picked up the pace, the trees a blur as he sped by. "Honey–…" he stopped dead, staring in shock at what was in front of him: Honeypaw's dead body, covered in blood, and standing next to her was no other than Darkpaw. The black apprentice looked into Cheetahpaw's eyes, his face smeared with blood.

"You're next…" He rasped, lunging claws first at his brother's throat.

Cheetahpaw's eyes flew open and he jumped to his paws, looking around. "Cheetahpaw?" He heard Lilypaw's voice. "Is that you? Go back to sleep." He nodded, lying back down. 'It must've been just a dream, but it had to have meant something, the way Darkpaw's eyes looked.' Cheetahpaw sighed, glancing at Darkpaw's nest, a well way away from his. 'I'm watching you, savage,' he growled in his head, 'I would never let anything happen to Honeypaw…err, Honeykit, I mean. Oh, same thing! I can't fail my baby sister, if I ever did, I would be nothing but a disgrace, a liar, kittypet-material.'

_**TRANSITION**_

"MOM! Are you done yet?!" Icekit wailed as Littlesoul groomed her.

"Hush, this is your apprentice ceremony, you need to look decent." She snapped, continuing to lick Icekit's fur.

"She's right, Icekit, that is if you want a good mentor…" Cheetahpaw said.

"I'm in, groom me more!" she demanded.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the High Rock for a Clan meeting."

"It's about to start, come on guys!" Kestrelkit meowed, running outside with Honeykit and Icekit right on his tail. Cheetahpaw, Lilypaw, Darkpaw, Littlesoul, and Snakefang were sitting beside each other in the front row.

Quailstar was sitting on the edge of High Rock, looking as old as usual, looking over his Clan proudly. "I have a few announcements to make. First, four kits are becoming apprentices today. Icekit, do you accept the responsibilities of becoming an apprentice? And do you uphold the warrior code with your life?"

"I do."

"Then, until you receive your warrior name, you shall always be referred to as, Icepaw. You will be Mousestep's last apprentice before moving to the elder's den." A dark brown she-cat with amber eyes walked to her new apprentice, briefly touching noses and then sitting beside her. The same thing went on with Kestrelpaw, Honeypaw, and Leopardpaw, who were being mentored by Rosesky, Mapleleaf, and Oakpelt. "My next announcement is that I have been leader of this Clan for countless moons, leading BadgerClan was the highlight of my life. But, I'm on my last life, and I am very old, so I have decided to step down and let Redfoot take my place as leader. I shall move into the elder's den tomorrow." Gasps of shock were heard throughout the Clan. "Clan dismissed." Quailstar glanced at the deputy and walked to his den, Redfoot following a cat-length away.

"I can't believe Quailstar's retiring." Snakefang said as he got to his paws.

"I know." Littlesoul sighed.

Cheetahpaw glanced at the camp entrance, seeing Blackthorn, Riversong, and Mapleleaf. No Lilypaw and Honeypaw, though. "Three!" he heard Lilypaw shout, as he was turning his head to look behind him he was tackled down.

"Agh! Wha–?" he looked up to see Honeypaw on top of him. "Honeypaw? I'm so proud of you!"

"I taught her that." Lilypaw sat down next to her siblings and smirked.

"Not true! I just memorized Mother's killing stories." Honeypaw snorted, lashing her tail at her oldest sister.

"Think fast!" Cheetahpaw heard Darkpaw's voice, and at once he gently shoved his sister off him and rolled onto his paws. He was about to knock him down, but the spotted apprentice lunged at his brother, bringing him down instead. "Mouse-brain! I was aiming for Honeypaw, obviously." That just made Cheetahpaw angrier.

"Come on, Cheetahpaw," Lilypaw said, noticing her brother's hunger for blood. "Let's go, our mentors are waiting for us." Cheetahpaw snorted at Darkpaw and got off him, following his sister. "Honeypaw, come on!"

"Coming!" with a final glance at the black apprentice, Honeypaw scurried to her oldest siblings and walked in between them, afraid that Darkpaw might try to pounce on her again.

_**TRANSITION**_

"No fair, you're older!" Honeypaw squealed as Lilypaw pinned her down.

"Gives me an advantage, then." She chuckled as she got off her, sitting next to Cheetahpaw.

"An unfair advantage." The younger apprentice muttered, getting to her paws.

"Honeypaw's right," Mapleleaf said. "Come on Honeypaw, let's train over there _without_ your siblings." The two she-cats walked to a smaller part of the training hollow.

"Who wants to kill an innocent TreeClan cat?" Blackthorn asked.

"I do!" Lilypaw jumped to her paws and swayed her tail excitedly, Cheetahpaw said nothing.

"Not this time. Instead, you can kill an innocent mouse or two." Riversong said, shooting a glare at Blackthorn. She noticed his apprentice wasn't as enthused. "Cheetahpaw, you're one of the last cats I'd expect to not want to shed TreeClan blood. Is there something wrong?"

"Uhh…" Cheetahpaw had kept his relationship with Bluepaw a secret ever since they had met, and he wasn't about to spill it now. "No not at all, I'm just….tired." Riversong eyed him carefully, narrowing her eyes.

"Can I go hunt? I want to sink my claws into something!" Lilypaw chimed, noticing Cheetahpaw's nervousness.

"Yes, fine. Take your brother with you, and keep a close eye on him." Riversong said, taking her eyes off of him. 'Phew, I thought she'd break me.' Cheetahpaw thought. He and Lilypaw ran into the forest, splitting up after a few seconds, each following a scent of prey.

"Ooh, a thrush, Bluepaw likes those…I think." He murmured, seeing a thrush peck at a worm. Without hesitation, Cheetahpaw lunged at the bird and snapped it's neck with one blow. He picked it up and padded to the river, sitting and waiting for her.

"Hi, Cheetahpaw!" he heard Ravenpaw's voice from a short distance away. He turned his head to the NightClan side to see his friend with a light brown tabby tom standing next to her. "This is my other friend, Duskpaw."

"Pleased." Duskpaw said.

"Likewise." Cheetahpaw replied, walking along the riverside. Duskpaw shrunk a bit when he got closer, ever since the new scars Cheetahpaw has been looking stronger, and bigger.

"Are you waiting for Bluepaw?" Ravenpaw asked. He nodded.

"She's taking forever these days. I used to be the late one, trying to keep my sisters happy, but now she's never around." He sighed, sitting down.

"Have you ever wondered if she likes someone else?" Duskpaw said after a long silence. Cheetahpaw pricked his ears and stared at the apprentice straight in his dark blue eyes.

"She wouldn't…she couldn't! A TreeClanner knows very well what a BadgerClanner is capable of, after generations of war. If she were to do something like that–"

"Cheetahpaw, you're talking to her _again_?!" Bluepaw wailed behind him. He whipped his head around, only to see her fiery eyes. "What did we talk about? Oh, and she brought a stupid little friend, just to cover what what she's trying to do!"

"What are you talking about, fox breath? I'm not trying to do anything but talk to one of my best friends! Wait a minute…you're jealous!" Ravenpaw snapped.

"Jealous? Who would be jealous of a scrawny, over-grown kit like you? And you think _I _have fox breath? Speak for yourself!" Bluepaw stood at the edge of her side of the river.

"Uh, should we do something?" Duskpaw asked, glancing at Cheetahpaw.

"Naw, they're she-cats, they can solve their own problems." He told the younger apprentice before looking back to the fight.

"Can you swim?"

"Can you climb?"

"Who cares about climbing over-sized sticks? He can swim, I can swim, you CANNOT swim. And no TreeClanner can, or will!"

"Oh yeah? Well–" Bluepaw took a step forward, not noticing the deep river underneath her. She fell in, screaming until her head was under the water.

"Bluepaw!" Cheetahpaw leapt to his paws and threw himself into the river, swimming in after her. She was sinking quickly, clawing and thrashing. She appeared that she lost all of her air, and she couldn't breathe any more, causing Cheetahpaw to paddle faster. He was finally close enough to grab her scruff and pull her to the surface. Once their heads head broke the surface he gasped for air, dragging Bluepaw to the TreeClan side.

"Is she okay?" Ravenpaw asked, she obviously felt like the entire situation was her fault.

"Should we get help?" Duskpaw pitched in.

"No…" Cheetahpaw said, staring down at Bluepaw's lifeless body, "she's gone. I didn't swim fast enough….I was too late…" There was a long silence after that.

"I'm so sorry, Cheetahpaw…I didn't mean to–"

"It's not your fault, Ravenpaw. It's mine." He insisted, not taking his eyes off Bluepaw.

"No it isn't–"

"Yes it is!" he turned his head to glare at her, his eyes fiery. "Her death is _all_ my fault! If I hadn't…" He paused, not taking his eyes off her.

"Hadn't what?" she asked, "Met me?" Cheetahpaw shook his head slowly.

"No, that's not what I mean…it's just–"

"Ravenpaw and I should get going." Duskpaw interrupted him, resting his tail on her shoulder. She nodded.

"See you." Ravenpaw said quietly to Cheetahpaw before turning around and walking away next to Duskpaw.

He looked back at Bluepaw, closing his eyes and pressing his nose into the fur on her shoulder. "Please come back…" He whispered, "I miss you."

He lifted his head and sighed. At that moment, Bluepaw started coughing and gasping for air, slowly opening her eyes. "Cheetahpaw…?" she asked weakly. His eyes flew open and he smiled.

"Bluepaw, you're alive!"

"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him.

"Never mind. We need to get you back to your camp."

_**TRANSITION**_

Gasps and snarls were heard throughout the TreeClan camp as Cheetahpaw and Bluepaw walked through the entrance. "Who brought this savage in here?" "Did Bluepaw _capture_ him?" "Why is she wet?" "Where's Thornstar? He'll take care of this!"

"Silence!" a large chestnut colored tom with yellow eyes boomed. Everyone stopped and looked at him, he appeared to be Thornstar. "BadgerClanner," he growled, "state your name and business."

"Cheetahpaw. One of you're apprentices, Bluepaw, fell into the river and nearly drowned. She would've died if I weren't there."

"Why were you near the border?" Thornstar asked.

"I wasn't. I just heard a scream, a splash, then silence. I went to investigate when I realized only a TreeClanner would be clumsy enough to fall into the big, obvious river."

"Why did you save her life? Why not leave her for dead?"

"I couldn't let any cat drown. Not unless it was drowning in their own blood because of my claws deep in their throat. Any more questions?" Cheetahpaw asked, a smirk on his face. Thornstar narrowed his eyes.

"Just get out of my camp, savage. Before I change my mind about letting you out alive."

_**TRANSITION**_

"It's ridiculous," Cheetahpaw was telling Lilypaw and Honeypaw about what happened in TreeClan. "I save a stupid cat's life and I don't get any recognition from the mouse-brained leader."

"Don't bother waiting," Lilypaw said, "Thornstar is tough, he doesn't like friendly conversation with his foes."

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather around High Rock for Clan meeting!" Redfoot, now Redstar, announced. Everyone did as they were told, Kestrelpaw and Rosesky poking their heads out from the medicine cat's den to listen. "I have two things to get out of the way. One: We need a new deputy. After a while of thought, I have made my decision. Eaglegaze shall be our new deputy."

"Eaglegaze! Eaglegaze!" the Clan started cheering, everyone except for Cheetahpaw and Blackthorn.

"On to my next announcement," Redstar continued after the Clan had quieted down, "there is a Gathering tonight, and I still haven't chosen the cats accompany me. There shall be Riversong, Blackthorn, Snakefang, Littlesoul, Mapleleaf, Mousestep, Icepaw, and…" He paused for a moment, glancing at Cheetahpaw, then Darkpaw. "And Cheetahpaw." Eaglegaze and Darkpaw's faces went from confidence and pride to shocked and upset.

"I refuse to let that puny scrap of fur to go to a Gathering and not me! I demand more thought in your decision!" Darkpaw yowled, glaring at Redstar.

"Redstar, you must recall that Darkpaw is very advanced for his age," Eaglegaze murmured, "Cheetahpaw is not even BadgerClan material, if you think about it."

"Enough!" Redstar stood and glared at his deputy and Darkpaw. "I have gone through my decision with StarClan before I called this meeting, they showed no bad omen. Cheetahpaw will come. If you have anything else to say, Darkpaw, I can always send you to clean out the elder's den instead of training for about….a half-moon?" that shut him up good, seeing as the black apprentice flattened his ears and slunk off into the apprentice's den. "That's what I thought. The cats I called to go to the Gathering, get ready. We will leave in a short matter of time." He started walking to his den, motioning for Eaglegaze to come along.

"Heard that Cheetahpaw?" Honeypaw said. "You get to go to the Gathering, and no Darkpaw!"

"Sounds like fun." He replied with a slight smirk on his face.

"Too bad you can't come, Honeypaw. The only one that can protect you from Darkpaw now is Lilypaw." Icepaw said, sitting next to her brother.

"I'll do my best, you can count on me." Lilypaw said, nudging her youngest sister with a paw.

"I know I can trust you, Lilypaw." Cheetahpaw told her.

"We're leaving! Come on you two!" Littlesoul called.

"Coming!"

_**TRANSITION**_

"BadgerClan has arrived!" a dark reddish-brown she-cat with light amber eyes announced. She appeared to be NightClan's leader. "Where's Quailstar, Redfoot?"

"He has retired," Redstar told her, "I am Redstar now, Scarletstar." She nodded.

"Welcome, Redstar." Cloudstar, a fluffy, white tom with ice blue eyes nodded at him. He was the leader of IceClan.

"Greetings, weasels." Thornstar snorted, refusing to look at his Clan's greatest enemies.

"Nice to see you too, kittypet." Redstar retorted. The TreeClan leader glared at him with bared teeth.

"That's enough! This is a Gathering for StarClan's sake!" Scarletstar snapped. The two toms hushed, still glaring at each other with hatred.

Icepaw sat in-between Littlesoul and Snakefang, while Cheetahpaw sat next to his mentor. He saw Rosesky lead Kestrelpaw towards a small, hidden clearing where the medicine cats and their apprentices probably meet. Three leaders sat upon rocks, while Thornstar sat on a branch of a low-standing tree. "Show-off." Blackthorn muttered.

"I think Scarletstar should speak first. Seeing as no one else is volunteering." Cloudstar said, nodding at the she-cat.

"Thank you, Cloudstar." She stood, resting her gaze upon the many cats looking up at her. "NightClan is doing just fine. Our territory is plentiful with prey, which is uncommon near leaf-bare. I am beginning to think some of IceClan's prey has scurried onto our side, maybe it's just me. Either way, it's ours now. Crimsonheart, one of our beloved warriors and the care-taker of Ravenpaw, is very ill. We are afraid she might not make it through the cold nights. She is in StarClan's paws now." Scarletstar looked to Cloudstar and nodded, sitting down. He nodded back at her, then stood.

"IceClan is doing great, as usual during this season. I have chosen a new deputy, even though she-cat leaders aren't supposed to have kits…or a mate, I have chosen my mate, Diamondlight. I believe she will make an excellent leader one day," he announced. Gasps of uncertainty were heard throughout the crowd, voices from IceClan were heard, too.

"Diamondlight?!" Littlesoul snarled under her breath. "That fur ball deserves to be stuck in a tree, not be treated as royalty even more then usual!"

"Anyway…" Cloudstar went on, "I believe there is nothing else to report, Redstar?" he looked at BadgerClan's leader.

"Huh? Oh…right." He stood as Cloudstar sat back down. "BadgerClan is in good health and in good numbers, we have four new apprentices today: Icepaw, Kestrelpaw, Honeypaw, and Leopardpaw. Two of the four are here with us today." He paused for a moment. "As most of you know, Quailstar retired today. He served this Clan well, he will be missed for his confidence and never-say-no attitude." He shot a glare at Thornstar then sat, not exactly wanting to make eye contact with such. TreeClan's leader snorted, standing.

"TreeClan isn't having any major problems, but an apprentice clumsily fell into the river between us and BadgerClan. She was saved by an unlikely hero: a BadgerClan apprentice. To this day, we are still not sure why he did it." He glanced at Cheetahpaw for a heartbeat then began talking once more. "Our deputy, Thistlestorm, was attacked by a juvenile fox and is now barely alive as the medicine cat is taking care of him. Only StarClan can see how this mess is going to end up. Though, I do have another warrior in mind to be deputy…just in case." He nodded and was about to jump off the branch before Scarletstar interrupted him.

"Wait!" she was looking towards the sky, her expression very concerned. Everyone looked to where she was looking: the moon. It was completely blanketed by clouds, you could barely see it. "The moon…it's covered by dark clouds! StarClan is unhappy about something." She looked at all of the leaders. "Have you left out any important information, fellow leaders?" They all shook their heads.

"Hey, what's the big deal?" Cheetahpaw heard a voice next to him. "Over here!" he looked to his right, seeing Hawkfrost with his usual glowing eyes and venomous smirk. "Why'd everything stop?"

"Probably because _you're _at a Gathering! Evil cats don't belong here!" Cheetahpaw whispered, not wanting others to hear.

"Evil? Who said I was evil? Just because I have done countless crimes against Clan-life and pressured other cats to do my dirty work, doesn't mean I'm _evil_." He argued with a chuckle. Cheetahpaw snorted and turned his head, ignoring him. 'Maybe if I don't pay any attention to him, he'll leave.' "Hey, I'm right here, not up there." Cheetahpaw didn't move. "Okay, if that's how you want to play." Hawkfrost raked his claws against Cheetahpaw's face, re-opening the scars on his cheek. He grunted, but didn't pay any more attention to him. "Fine! But don't expect me to go easy on you during training tonight!" Hawkfrost vanished, leaving a faint blue mist that faded away after a while. Once the mist faded, Cheetahpaw's scars closed up again, as if they had never been touched.

All of a sudden, the clouds vanished from the moon. Many cats sighed in relief, looking back to the ground or at the leaders. But Cheetahpaw saw something else in the sky…a new star had appeared next to the moon. 'What could that be about?'

**CLIFF HANGER :D this was long o3o…wow. Sorry it took me so long to type this up, I have lots of homework and lots of laziness so don't judge me cx SPOILER: the new star meant a new cat had just entered StarClan… but who was it? Crimsonheart? Thistlestorm? Or someone with the innocence of a newborn kit…?**


	8. Chapter 7

**reviews: PoolstripeTheCat (Lol, ikr. i can't exactly explain y she's becoming such a *CENSORED*…but it has to do with ravenpaw. jealousy brings out the worst of you.), Chappstickk (*story….*ravenpaw. lol srry…can't help mehself XD. & its a surprise…..i can't ruin it for meh peoples.) FYI if y'all want spoilers like dat then tell me bout it, i'll message u de info ;3 SHOUTOUT TIME! PoolstripeTheCat…ur a BO$$! incase y'all haven't seen it, she made an OC (or whatever its called) based off of cheetah, blue, and…some random she-cat version of darkpaw i guess…but…she's gonna delete it (its probably deleted already, i take WAY too long with these stories). i'd continue…but meh peoples wanna read about the drama…suspenseeee….& WHO DIED? ALL CHUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED (maybe not ALL of them) IN DIS CHAPTER OF….o u kno what I'm talking bout. STORY TIME :D**

_**(LILYPAW'S PERSPECTIVE)**_

"What's taking Darkpaw and Honeypaw so long? They should be back from hunting by now." Lilypaw murmured to herself.

"Hi, Lilypaw." Bluepaw walked up to her, standing in front of her. "Everything alright?"

Lilypaw sighed, "Yeah, I'm just worried about Honeypaw. Maybe I should go check–"

"NO!" Bluepaw interrupted her, his silver eyes flashing.

"Umm, why not? She's my baby sister…I think I can check up on her every once in a while." She looked at him. "Is there a problem?"

He hesitated, trying to think of something to say. "...Darkpaw has everything under control, I guess he's just taking some extra time to teach Honeypaw more about hunting."

"Look, Bluepaw…you're a good friend and all, but it's sort of hard to trust you since you _are _one of Darkpaw's followers, or whatever you call yourself. So if you don't mind, I'm going to check on Honeypaw." She rubbed his head with a paw, then ran into the forest, following her siblings' scents.

"Honeypaw? Darkpaw? Where are you?!" Lilypaw called, still following their scent trails. All of a sudden, there was a scream. Then silence. "Honeypaw!" she gasped, running as fast as she could to where she heard the scream. As she got closer, a strong scent of blood had entered the air, covering up the smell of everything else. 'Oh no, Honeypaw….Darkpaw hurt her!' Lilypaw thought, forcing her paws to run faster. Soon she made it into a small clearing, a well way away from where BadgerClan usually catches prey. She peeked through an opening in some trees, being able to see clearly what was going on.

Darkpaw was standing over Honeypaw's dead body. She was covered in blood, along with his paws and muzzle. Darkpaw walked away, a satisfied smirk on his blood-smeared face. As soon as he was out of sight, Lilypaw walked up to Honeypaw's body, staring down with grief. "H-Honeypaw?" her eyes began to get watery at the sight of her youngest sister.

"Lilypaw? Is that you? I can't see, Darkpaw blinded me." Honeypaw coughed, blinking her bloody eyes.

"Yes…it's me. Y-you're still alive?" Lilypaw pressed her muzzle against hers, a few tears falling. Honeypaw slowly nodded, either trying to say yes or trying to nuzzle…either way, Lilypaw smiled, pulling her head back a bit. "Why did Darkpaw do this? What have you ever done to him?"

"He told me that I was the only thing keeping Cheetahpaw strong, he had to destroy me before Cheetahpaw became too strong…" she coughed up some blood before turning her head towards her sister. "I need you to send a message to Cheetahpaw, tell him these were my last words before ascending to StarClan." Lilypaw nodded, more tears falling. "Tell him to feel no guilt, he had no idea that Darkpaw was going to murder me while he was gone. He couldn't of known. Also, every time he sees a butterfly…especially one with orange wings and light green spots…it's me, my spirit–" Honeypaw coughed violently, her head dropping.

"Honeypaw!" Lilypaw nudged her, her eyes full of tears. "Honeypaw….what else? What else must I tell him? Talk to me! Don't go just yet!" It was too late. Her eyelids slowly fell over her eyes, her final breath was exhaled. Lilypaw rested her head on Honeypaw's flank, crying uncontrollably. 'What will I tell Cheetahpaw? How can I explain to him that she's dead? He'll go insane, probably rip up Darkpaw that moment I tell him. But…if Ceetahpaw and Darkpaw ever really had a fight, Darkpaw would win…sadly.' She just laid there with Honeypaw, refusing to leave until necessary.

_**TRANSITION (BACK TO CHEETAHPAW'S PERSPECTIVE)**_

As Cheetahpaw entered camp a yowl broke the silence. "Honeypaw's dead!" it was Darkpaw, his eyes wide with…fear? "In the forest, hurry!" before anyone had a chance to bolt to the scene, Lilypaw emerged from the entrance and looked at all of the cats she thought were staring at her.

"What?"

"Honeypaw is dead, Lilypaw. Where were you?" Eaglegaze snorted, eyeing her with suspicion.

"Don't get carried away, Eaglegaze," Cheetahpaw walked up to his sister, standing in front of her. "She wouldn't dare touch Honeypaw. Right, Lilypaw?" he looked at her.

"Yeah. _I _wouldn't." She shot a glance at Darkpaw before trotting into the apprentice's den, Bluepaw following.

"Are you coming or not?" Darkpaw spoke up impatiently.

"Right, let's go," Littlesoul said, walking up to her son. "Lead us to her." Darkpaw led Redstar, Littlesoul, Snakefang, Cheetahpaw, Icepaw, Kestrelpaw, Rosesky, Mapleleaf, and Eaglegaze to Honeypaw's dead body. Cheetahpaw was the only one who didn't either gasp or look away, he stared straight at the one he let down. 'I can't believe I let her die. Stupid Gathering! If it wasn't for Redstar choosing me…I might've been able to save Honeypaw.'

"Cheetahpaw, are you alright?" Snakefang asked, resting his tail-tip on his son's shoulder.

Cheetahpaw sighed, "Yeah."

"It's not your fault, you know."

"Yeah."

"Darkpaw," Snakefang looked up at him. "How did Honeypaw die?"

Darkpaw hesitated for a moment. "…She was killed by a fox," when he said fox, Littlesoul's eyes flew open, she was frozen. "I scented one, and went to investigate. But she followed me, and I guess the fox thought she was easier prey than me." Snakefang nodded.

Redstar cleared his throat, "We shall hold a vigil, I will gather the Clan–"

"No, Redstar. You, Eaglegaze, and Rosesky will leave us to mourn. Then Mapleleaf will leave. Then as everyone else clears out, it will only be Cheetahpaw and me." Littlesoul argued. Redstar nodded, motioning for his deputy and medicine cat to follow him to camp. A while later, Mapleleaf left at Littlesoul's command, then Darkpaw, then Kestrelpaw, then Icepaw, then Snakefang. "Do you wish to stay? I'm becoming very tired."

"Yes, Mother. I want to spend tonight with Honeypaw. Send Lilypaw to find me at dawn, please." Littlesoul nodded, leaving her most favorite kits.

_**TRANSITION (LITTLESOUL'S PERSPECTIVE)**_

"…She was killed by a fox." At that word…_fox_…Littlesoul's eyes turned from grief to shock. 'That reminds me of what I said about Violettail's death…' She thought. She shook the thought from her mind, Darkpaw couldn't of killed Honeypaw. She gazed down at her daughter's claws, black fur in between them…'Oh no.' She whipped her head around to see Darkpaw talking to his mentor, they were chuckling and murmuring in secret. 'No…I don't believe it!' Littlesoul stayed stubborn, until she saw it. Darkpaw smirked, an open-mouthed smirk, to reveal smeared blood on a few of his teeth. 'He did it…My little Darkpaw, murdered my little Honeypaw.' Littlesoul looked back to her daughter, tears filling up her eyes. 'My son…has become _me_.' This was her worst nightmare.

_**TRANSITION (BACK TO CHEETAHPAW'S PERSPECTIVE) 3 moons later :3**_

It was Cheetahpaw's warrior ceremony, the happiest moment of his life. The only problem: it wasn't too happy at all. He was still grieving over Honeypaw. Lilypaw had gave him the message she wanted him to hear, but it didn't help. Bluepaw had had her warrior ceremony by now, her new name was Bluecloud. TreeClan's deputy had died. They replaced Thistlestorm with Blackpelt, a black tom with ice blue eyes and an X shaped scar across his right eye. Ravenpaw had finally seen that Cheetahpaw had no interest in her, so she said that as soon as Duskpaw and she became warriors, they would become mates. For some reason, that hurt Cheetahpaw…it made him feel weird. Cloudstar was dead, also. He went missing, putting Diamondlight in his place. She is presently Diamondstar, no matter how many times Littlesoul says she will not accept it, she still refers to her as star instead of light.

"Cheetahpaw," Redstar began, "do you accept the responsibilities of becoming a warrior? And will you follow the warrior code and protect your Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then you shall always be referred to as," he glanced at Snakefang. He nodded. "Cheetahfang." Cheetahfang bowed his head, staring at his paws after Redstar turned his attention to Lilypaw. "Lilypaw, do you accept the responsibilities of becoming a warrior? And will you follow the warrior code and protect the Clan even at the cost of your life?"

"I do."

"Then you shall always be referred to as, Lilywhisker. Darkpaw, do you accept the responsibilities of becoming a warrior? And will you follow the warrior code and protect the Clan even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do." There was something about Darkpaw's face that said this wasn't going to be a normal ceremony.

"Then you shall always be referred to as–"

"Wait!" Darkpaw interrupted Redstar. Gasps were heard throughout the Clan, every pair of eyes were on him. "I have a confession to make." Littlesoul flattened her ears and drooped her head a bit, Lilywhisker doing the same. "Honeypaw wasn't killed by a fox, oh no. She was _murdered_ by ME!" Cheetahfang's eyes flew open and his head turned to his brother.

"You…fox-heart!" he lunged at him, but he was bowled over by Lilywhisker, who as having trouble keeping him down.

"Thank you, Lilywhisker," Redstar nodded at her, then glared at Darkpaw. "Eaglegaze, did you know about this?"

"Yes, Redstar, I am ashamed to say," the deputy sighed.

"What about you, Bluepaw and Spottedpaw?"

"Yes, Redstar."

"Disgraces!" Redstar boomed. "If I could, I'd send all of you to Twolegplace. But…since Darkpaw is the only criminal here, he deserves the punishment."

"No, Redstar! Have mercy!" Littlesoul begged, standing. "I was spared even though I murdered my mother!"

"Your _foster_ mother! And that was Quailstar," Redstar snorted.

"Then give him a name like mine! Anything but send him away!" Littlesoul pleaded. The leader stared at her for a moment, then looked back to Darkpaw.

"Fine. Darkpaw, you shall always be referred to as Dark_heart_," he muttered, quickly turning his attention to Bluepaw. Darkheart looked satisfied with his name, as if he only did the deed for the stupid thing. Bluepaw was renamed to Bluetiger, and Spottedpaw was now Spottedraven.

"Cheetahpaw…er…Cheetahfang, want to go hunting?" Lilywhisker asked him after the ceremony.

"Do I have to? I'd much rather push Darkheart off a cliff," he muttered.

"Yes, you have to. I need to tell you something." They walked through the camp exit and instead of looking for mice, went for a walk. "You know how only three other cats knew about…the incident?"

"Yeah, why?" Cheetahfang looked at her.

"I…knew about it too, I saw Darkheart just after he killed her, and when I went over–"

"You were about to stop him?" he asked eagerly.

"Um, no. But after he left, is when I walked to Honeypaw's side to look at the damage." Cheetahfang stopped walking.

"So, that's why you told me that message thingy…but wasn't she dead when you looked at her?"

"That's just it, I think StarClan didn't take her right away because of that message. She was barely alive when I was at her side, she had to ask if it was really me. Poor thing, Darkheart blinded her. Her message was her last words before dying," Lilywhisker said. Cheetahfang sighed.

"I haven't seen a butterfly since you told me about the message," he pouted.

"Don't be like that," Lilywhisker started walking again, flicking her brother's ear with her tail-tip to tell him to start walking as well. "Let her take her time. She's probably still being mentored in StarClan, since she's still an apprentice. Maybe when she's a warrior she'll send you a butterfly."

"Maybe."

_**TRANSITION (FLASHBACK)**_

"Honeykit, wait up!" Cheetahpaw called to his sister, who was far ahead of him in the forest.

"No way, you hurry up! Slowpoke!" she called back. They were running towards the river to see which one of them could catch a fish faster than the other. The loser would have to go over onto NightClan's side and steal some berries for the medicine cats…since that was their original mission.

"Alright, we're here. Ready to lose?" he said challengingly.

"Keep dreaming, I'm going to catch a fish _long _before you!" Honeykit teased, crouching at the edge of the river, one paw extended.

"Sure you will…Ready, set, fish!" Cheetahpaw said, turning his attention to the water. Honeykit did the same, keeping her claws unsheathed as her paw was right above the river. A fish swam right below it, giving her the advantage. She slapped her paw down, snatching onto the fish with her claws. She quickly threw it into the air, it landed right behind her.

"I won! Now go fetch some berries, will you?" Honeykit giggled. Cheetahpaw muttered something, then cautiously walked across the NightClan border. He tiptoed to the nearest holly bush and snatched a couple berries off of it. He sped back onto his territory afterwards, hoping his scent wasn't lingering on the other side. "That was funny."

"Shut up. If I were caught, who knows what would've happened?"

"Um, they would ask you what you were doing. Duh."

"And what am I supposed to say then? We're not supposed to steal medicine supplies from other Clans, you know." Cheetahpaw started walking back to camp, Honeykit following with her prey in her mouth.

"A-aCHOOOO!" Honeykit sneezed, sending her flying into the nearest tree, dropping her prey.

"Now that, was funny," Cheetahpaw laughed. "Y'alright?"

"Ugh…yeah," Honeykit sniffled and trotted back to her fish, picking it up. A tan and brown butterfly with green spots flew over Honeykit, soon returning to rest on her nose. "Oooh, pretty!" she lifted a paw so the butterfly could rest there, it flew off her nose and landed onto her paw. "And smart. What should I name her?" Honeykit asked.

The name Sasha echoed in Cheetahpaw's mind. "Sasha's a good name."

"You're right. I like that name." The butterfly slowly rose from her paw and flew away. "Bye, Sasha!"

"Come on, you're being silly." Cheetahpaw nudged her shoulder.

"Alright." They started walking again. "You think Sasha will come back?"

"Of course. She looked like she really liked you."

**Okie dat's all for chapter 8 :3 Sorry if it kinda sucks, I've been working on it while I was sick…so that's why. incase y'all hadn't noticed, the butterfly is Sasha's pelt and eye coloring, that's why it goes with her name :3 soo…that was a HUGE spoiler for later on, sorry XD I'm thinking about putting this story on a break, and working on another story I had in mind to start typing up. Tell me what you think. I mean, if you think about it…the story's already half-way done…really O3o…wow. welp, until next time :D**


	9. Chapter 8

**REVIEWS: Thesoundlessrune (ikr), snowstripe482 (i hear ya), Moonofbetrayal (omg thanks :3) & Max Saturday burns toasters (i like pie 2 :D and sadly there are no cliffs in this territory…srry bro). Derp o3o**

_**BLUETIGER'S PERSPECTIVE**_

"So, what do you think?" Darkheart asked Bluetiger and Spottedraven. They were in the forest in a hidden clearing that no one would even think of looking for.

"Wait, wait…explain your plan _again_, please. All I heard was something about Cheetahfang." Bluetiger said.

"Stop thinking about my stupid sister and listen! What do you see in Lilywhisker, anyway? You know what…don't answer that. I don't want to lose my lunch. Anyway, ever since Eaglegaze was struck with the flu, Redstar has been having private conversations with Cheetahfang. I've been thinking it was about the Honeypaw thing, but that was three moons ago…cats can't _still_ be talking about that by now. I think he's planning for that flea brain to become deputy! Instead of me! And I _can't_ let that happen. So, on the night that Eaglegaze dies, after the vigil, I'll lure Cheetahfang into the woods…alone…with me. Then, once we get as far away from camp as possible, I'll kill him. Good idea, or good idea?" Darkheart explained, smirking at the end to show his expectations of his friends saying yes.

"Yeah, Darkheart. Sounds well thought-out," Spottedraven said.

"Oh it is. I've been thinking about this plan ever since my apprentice ceremony. Bluetiger, what do you think?" he turned his menacing eyes to him, expecting the same cowardly answer as Spottedraven had given him.

"Uh…" Bluetiger hesitated, not knowing what to say. 'If I say yes, he'll do it. But if he kills Cheetahfang, Lilywhisker would be so upset, and she wouldn't appreciate the fact that I knew about it and didn't stop it. But, if I say no, Darkheart will probably kill _me_," he thought.

"Well? Spit it out." All eyes were on him.

"I…I don't think you should do it," Bluetiger said, flattening his ears. Darkheart's eyes went cold, colder than usual. He unsheathed his claws and snarled.

"Say that again, I didn't hear you."

"You can't kill Cheetahfang, Darkheart!" he stood and unsheathed his claws as well. It obviously caught him and Spottedraven by surprise. "He's your brother, and what reason do you have to murder _another _innocent cat?" Darkheart stared at him, not saying a word.

"I promised myself I wouldn't dare explain my issues I have with my brother to anyone. And I intend to keep it. Like it or not, Cheetahfang will die. And when he does, you will be next, Bluetiger." Is all he said before walking away, back to camp.

_**TRANSITION (HONEYPAW'S PERSPECTIVE) three moons earlier :3**_

_**before death:**_

"Hey, Honeypaw," Darkpaw said, walking up to her. "Want to go hunting with me? I can teach you a few things."

"Um, ok," Honeypaw agreed, following him into the forest. They were walking for a long time, and so far: no prey. "Where are we going? I don't see any prey and I don't even recognize this place!"

"Of course you don't. You've never been this far into the forest for a reason," Darkpaw said, stopping.

"What reason?"

"Don't you know?" Honeypaw shook her head. "This is the place where most in-Clan murders take place. Like our mother's killing, for example."

"Why'd you bring me here then?" Honeypaw asked, afraid.

"Oh no reason…just to kill you."

"Wait…Wha–?!" Darkpaw cut her off, pouncing onto her and sinking his claws into her shoulders. "NO!" Honeypaw screamed to the top of her lungs, managing to squirm out of her brother's grasp. She began to run towards camp, but there was one problem: where was camp?!

"Don't think you can get away THAT easy!" Darkpaw bowled her over and raked his claws against her eyes, blinding her. She tried to claw him back, but missed by a whisker-length.

"Let me go! What do you want from me?!" Honeypaw screeched.

"I want you _dead_," he hissed, raking his claws against her stomach. She eventually managed to rake her claws against his face, causing him to back away and hiss. She weakly got up and tried to limp away, but it was useless. She collapsed, losing all of her strength. "Well, well, well. Looks like you couldn't escape, huh? What a surprise."

"You won't get away with this…Someone will find me!" Honeypaw hissed.

"You'll be dead by then."

"What reason do you have…to kill your own sister on the night of her apprentice ceremony?" Honeypaw insisted, angry and exhausted. Every muscle ached and stung.

"You are the only thing keeping Cheetahpaw strong. And he can't get too strong, now can he? For if that happens, my reputation will be ripped away by him, all because of some stupid she-cat! I cannot let that happen."

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"Hate is such a strong word. I would put it as, despise."

"But WHY?!" Honeypaw snarled.

"He has always been the favorite of Littlesoul and Snakefang. The runt, the weakest of the litter…was their _favorite _for some reason. And that irked me. It pushed me to the breaking point when he pinned me down after your apprentice ceremony. I had to see him suffer. And what better way to kill him, than kill his only meaning in life? To protect _you_," he paused for a moment. "The point is, who has ever heard of a descendant of Tigerstar, being so upset and weak? _No one_. But then there's me, the only good child of the litter that is willing to carry on with Tigerstar's work: to foil my enemies and take over the Clans. Once I'm deputy…Eaglestar will die under my claws, then I and my acquaintances will kill every leader and deputy there is until the other three Clans are nothing but confused loners! Then…they will have no choice but to bow down to ME. My plan is perfect…It's unstoppable!" Darkpaw smirked, his eyes glowing under the influence of evil.

"That's insane! Cheetahpaw will stop you…I know he will!"

"Sure, and I'll sprout wings. Idiotic she-cat, of course I will end up the victor, no one will get in my way. Well, ta-ta! I'm going back to camp," he said, walking away with a satisfied smirk on his blood-smeared face.

_**after death:**_

"Where am I?" she asked, finding herself in what appeared to be space. There was nothing but stars in a black-purple background. She looked at her paws to see that she was nothing but a silhouette. "AHH! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" she screamed. "If this is what StarClan's like, then it's no place I'd want to live in! It's too weird! I miss Cheetahpaw and Lilypaw, I want to go HOME!" she fell over and started to cry. She looked up to see the silhouette of another cat with green eyes. "Who are you?" she asked between sobs.

"Take a guess, child," the silhouette said. It was a she-cat.

"Uh…" Honeypaw sniffled, her tears beginning to fade a bit.

"I am your butterfly." The she-cat helped her up and dried her tears with her paw.

"Sasha? But…you're a cat!"

"I know, I went into your world as a butterfly, since you do love them so very much. I needed you to know my name and at least what I look like, that's why the insect's wings' colors were mine."

"What do you mean? You're a silhouette. And so am I," Honeypaw pouted.

"Oh, right. Here, close your eyes and imagine the happiest thing you can think of. It will calm you down enough to enter StarClan camp," Sasha instructed, rested her tail tip on Honypaw's shoulder. Honeypaw thought of Cheetahpaw and Lilypaw, and her parents, and her old home where she loved to be. 'I want to go home…' she thought, one single tear falling. "Alright, that was pretty quick. You may open your eyes now," Sasha said. Honeypaw did as she was told, opening her eyes to a different Clan camp. There were three dens on one side of the camp and two on the other side, the leader's den probably in the High Rock. The fresh-kill pile was near the nursery, which was one of the two dens. The other one was probably the apprentices'. "You will be staying in the apprentices' den, next to the nursery over there. Let's just get you introduced and all that. Our leader is Firestar."

"May all Clan cats gather around High Rock! We have a guest. Sasha, who have you brought to join our ranks?" a dark, fiery orange tom with green eyes announced, sitting upon High Rock.

"This is Honeypaw. She was killed today by her own brother, and she is as innocent as she appears. I plan to mentor her," Sasha explained. Every cat was staring at Honeypaw, there was this ginger tabby-and-white tom with bright green eyes smiling at her. She smiled back to be polite, not meaning anything of it. "That used to be Gorsepaw when he first came here, but now he's Gorseclaw." Sasha whispered in Honeypaw's ear.

"Well, I welcome Honeypaw to the Clan, and I'm sure the other apprentices will, too," Firestar said, flicking his tail to say that the meeting was over.

"I'll take you to the apprentice's den. Come on," Sasha said, leading her towards it. There were four other apprentices, three she-cats and one tom. One she-cat had creamy fur with purple eyes and a white spot around her left eye. "That's Flowerpaw." Another she-cat was black with a long, white stripe starting at her forehead down to her tail-tip, her paws were white too, her eyes were ice blue. "That's Ferretpaw." The last she-cat was brown with a black tail and ears, her eyes were yellow. "That's Barkpaw." The tom was light gray with a darker gray chest and belly, his eyes were also yellow. "That's Sootpaw. Have fun, Honeypaw. We'll start training later." Sasha walked away, leaving Honeypaw with strangers.

"Uh, hello…I'm Honeypaw," she said, nervous.

"We heard," Ferretpaw snorted.

"Ferret, be nice!" Flowerpaw snapped, turning to Honeypaw. "It's nice to meet you, Barkpaw and I are the nicest here, be careful around the other two."

"Hey! I'm nice!" Sootpaw growled.

"Only when your flirting," Barkpaw snickered.

"Point taken." Sootpaw rolled over in his nest. "Find a nest, newbie. There just happens to be a free one next to me."

"Ignore him," Flowerpaw snorted, glaring at him. "Here's one between me and Barkpaw, much better living space then anywhere near _him_," she insisted.

"Ok." Honeypaw sat in the nest Flowerpaw picked for her. 'It's not so bad here, I think I already have three friends! Well…does Sootpaw count?' she thought. "Who are you guys' mentors?"

"Mine is Sandstorm," Flowerpaw said, pointing her tail to a tan colored she-cat with green eyes talking to Firestar, "Firestar's mate."

"Mine is Tawnypelt," Barkpaw said, pointing her nose to a mottled pale tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes, "Tigerstar's daughter. He's not in StarClan though." Honeypaw nodded with interest.

"Mine is Lionblaze," Sootpaw said, pointing his paw to a golden tabby tom with amber eyes, "Brambleclaw's son."

"Mine is none of your business, BadgerClanner," Ferretpaw snorted, looking away.

"Her mentor is Hollyleaf, Lionblaze's sister." Flowerpaw pointed her tail to a black she-cat with green eyes. "I'm sorry about Ferretpaw, she's from TreeClan…that must explain why she's acting up all of a sudden. Sootpaw, Barkpaw and I are from NightClan."

"TreeClan, huh? That explains that," Honeypaw muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ferretpaw snapped, unsheathing her claws.

"Only tree-climbers have such curved claws, and such bad attitudes," she replied.

"Oh yeah, that just makes them deadlier, so you better stay off my bad side. Oh wait, you're already on it."

"Same with you! I'm Littlesoul's daughter, I think I know what I'm talking about," Honeypaw growled.

"If I hadn't known already, I would've thought you were a _kitty-pet_!" Ferretpaw snickered.

"That's enough!" Barkpaw said, "Sure, you're Clans have their differences, but can't we all get along now that we're in one Clan, one family?"

"Whatever." Ferretpaw stood and walked out of the apprentices' den.

"Where's she going?" Honeypaw asked.

"Probably to bug Hollyleaf to take her training, just to get away from us," Flowerpaw muttered, rolling over in her nest.

"Sootpaw! Over here!" Lionblaze called him. He was standing next to his sister and Ferretpaw.

"Got to go train, see you guys later." Sootpaw jumped out of his nest and ran to his mentor's side.

"And then there were three," Barkpaw said. "It's so boring being cooped up in here, what are we supposed to do?!"

"Ooh Honeypaw, look who's starting at you," Flowerpaw poked her shoulder.

"Who?" she looked up seeing Gorseclaw looking at her again. "Does he dislike me or something?

"No, he likes you!" Flowerpaw giggled.

"But…He's so _old_. Shouldn't he be an elder by now?"

"Nope. When cats enter StarCan as anything younger than an elder, they stay warriors forever. Only those who die as elders stay elders," Flowerpaw explained. "So tell us about how you died. I was hit by a monster."

"I was bitten by a snake," Barkpaw said. "Ferretpaw fell off a tree and broke her neck, while Sootpaw caught Crimsonheart's flu."

"I was murdered by my brother," Honeypaw sighed. Flowerpaw and Barkpaw gasped.

"That's awful!" Flowerpaw meowed. "I can tell you right now, he's going to the Dark Forest!"

"We've known that for a while, now," Honeypaw giggled.

"We should get off the subject. How about we grab a mouse or two from the fresh-kill pile?" Barkpaw suggested.

"Good idea." Honeypaw got to her paws and walked to the fresh-kill pile with her new friends. 'It's not so bad here, I can get used to this. I just hope Cheetahpaw and Lilypaw are ok.'

**well :3 thats chapter 9 for ya. is it just me or is it missing something o3o…-shrug- whateva. i think chapter 10 will be better cx**


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